Public Art

9 sculptures of the world’s most endangered animals unveiled in Greenwich Village

All photos courtesy of Cayla Spatz

April 4, 2022

9 sculptures of the world’s most endangered animals unveiled in Greenwich Village

By
A public art installation consisting of sculptures representing nine of the world's most endangered animals was unveiled on Friday. Created by husband-and-wife art duo Gillie and Marc, the six-foot-tall sculptures are located within Greenwich Village's Ruth Wittenberg Triangle. Each sculpture is accompanied by a QR code which spectators can scan to learn more about each of the animals as well as donate to the World Wildlife Fund, Gillie and Marc's charity partner. The exhibit will be on display until July 31 when its next location is announced.
Find out more
New mural in the East Village honors history of Ukraine

All photos courtesy of Mike Krautter

March 28, 2022

New mural in the East Village honors history of Ukraine

By
A new public art installation was unveiled in the East Village this weekend that aims to show solidarity with Ukraine and its people. Created by New York-based Ukrainian artist Misha Tyutyunik, "Ukraine: A History in Solidarity" depicts a famous monument inspired by the story behind the naming of Ukraine's capital city of Kyiv. A gift from Citizens Bank, the artwork was designed with help from Kyiv residents during Tyutyunik’s time in Ukraine in 2019 and painted on Saturday with help from the public.
See more here
New art installation is a tranquil sanctuary in the heart of Times Square

Rendering of Raúl Cordero’s Public Art Project, The Poem. Courtesy of the artist and Times Square Arts.

March 22, 2022

New art installation is a tranquil sanctuary in the heart of Times Square

By
Take a moment to escape the hustle and bustle of the city at this new public art installation opening in Times Square. Next month, Times Square Arts will debut Raúl Cordero's The Poem, a large-scale sculptural tower with illuminated text in its interior and cascading foliage on its exterior, reminiscent of a temple sanctuary. Guests step into the artwork and look up through 20 feet of cascading mountain laurel foliage only to see the night sky and the lines of a haiku fixed to the walls. The Poem is on view from April 8 through May 4.
Learn more
Fernando Botero’s 8-foot ‘Sphinx’ sculpture has landed in the Meatpacking District

Photos courtesy of David Benrimon Fine Art

March 11, 2022

Fernando Botero’s 8-foot ‘Sphinx’ sculpture has landed in the Meatpacking District

By
Concurrent with an exhibition of celebrated Colombian artist Fernando Botero's work at David Benrimon Fine Art, Botero’s iconic "Sphinx" will be holding court in the Meatpacking District’s 14th Street Square until April 19. The exhibition and sculpture also mark the 90th birthday of Colombia’s most successful living artist. Botero's familiar style interprets mythological and everyday subjects with exaggerated, voluptuous proportions and flat, bright colors. The latest Meatpacking addition features the iconic creature with a human head, a lion's body and a falcon's wings in classic zaftig Botero style; there's no indication that it will be offering riddles.
International flair for a downtown square
New art exhibit lets you walk through a glowing tunnel in the Garment District

Image courtesy of Alexandre Ayer / @DiversityPics for the Garment District Alliance

January 11, 2022

New art exhibit lets you walk through a glowing tunnel in the Garment District

By
A small section of Broadway in the Garment District has been transformed into a glowing tunnel. The Garment District Alliance today revealed Passage, an art installation consisting of 20 illuminated circles that form a tunnel for pedestrians to walk through. The art piece is interactive, with each ring radiating light and emitting sound as participants pass by them. Located on Broadway between 39th and 40th Streets, the free immersive art experience will be open to the public until February 13.
Find out more
‘Fearless Girl’ statue faces possible eviction as permit expires

Image via Anthony Quintano’s Flickr

December 2, 2021

‘Fearless Girl’ statue faces possible eviction as permit expires

By
In 2018, 6sqft reported that artist Kristen Visbal's "Fearless Girl" statue was on the move to her current spot across from the New York Stock Exchange. Now, the diminutive statue is in the news once again, as her time there may be drawing to a close. The statue's permit with the Landmarks Preservation Commission expired on November 29, and with a city hearing scheduled for December (or even later), the fate of "Fearless Girl" is not a sure thing.
Find out more
The faces of 1,200 New Yorkers now greet visitors outside of the Port Authority bus terminal

All photos: Alexandre Ayer / @DiversityPics for the Garment District Alliance.

October 15, 2021

The faces of 1,200 New Yorkers now greet visitors outside of the Port Authority bus terminal

By
The Port Authority bus terminal in Midtown may not be one of New York City's most beautiful places, but the world’s busiest terminal recently got a beauty boost in the form of a 40-foot-high, 600-foot-wide gallery wall that features the diverse and fabulous faces of over 1,200 New Yorkers. The Garment District Alliance (GDA) and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) have collaborated to bring the giant photo gallery, "Inside Out: NY Together," part of an international initiative by world-renowned artist JR, to the Manhattan bus gateway.
See more smiling faces, this way
‘Arrivals + Departures’ is a new public memorial in Brooklyn that honors birth, life, and death

“Arrivals + Departures” by YARA + DAVINA. Photo © Sam Polcer

March 17, 2021

‘Arrivals + Departures’ is a new public memorial in Brooklyn that honors birth, life, and death

By
Outside the main entrance to the Brooklyn Academy of Music, there's a new public art installation that "offers a meditation on birth, life, and death through the simple, yet powerful act of naming." Created by UK-based social practice artists YARA+DAVINA, the memorial called "Arrivals + Departures" takes the shape of a traditional train station arrivals and departures board, listing the names of those who have been born (“arrived”) or passed (“departed”).
READ MORE
Artist BKFoxx debuts new Year of the Ox mural in Chinatown

Photo by @just_a_spectator

February 17, 2021

Artist BKFoxx debuts new Year of the Ox mural in Chinatown

By
Public artist BKFoxx recently debuted her new mural in celebration of the Lunar New Year. Located at Dr. Sun Yat Sen Middle School 131 on Eldridge and Hester Streets, the piece representing the Year of the Ox is titled "Onward." The artist tells us that she was inspired by what the Ox represents--honesty, hard work, stubbornness. "No better time than now for that theme, moving forward into 2021 and learning to be resilient," she says.
READ MORE
Walk through a kaleidoscope of rotating, glimmering prisms in the Garment District

Photos by Alexandre Ayer / @diversitypics for the Garment District Alliance

January 15, 2021

Walk through a kaleidoscope of rotating, glimmering prisms in the Garment District

By
The Garment District Alliance has unveiled a new public art exhibit in the Broadway plaza between 39th and 40th Streets. Called Prismatica, it's made up of 25, six-foot-tall pivoting prisms that reflect the colors of the rainbow and turn the street a "glimmering winter kaleidoscope." The piece was created by RAW Design in collaboration with ATOMIC3 and is on view through January 30th.
Check it out
Tom Fruin’s famous colorful glass house sculptures arrive in Meatpacking District

All photos © Brake Through Media

January 5, 2021

Tom Fruin’s famous colorful glass house sculptures arrive in Meatpacking District

By
American sculptor Tom Fruin has brought his famous "Icon" series to Gansevoort Plaza in the Meatpacking District. The installation, which is a welcome dose of color in the cold winter months, consists of one large "house" and seven smaller "satellite homes," all made in the artist's signature stained glass-esque design. During the day, the sun shines through the glass, casting colorful refelections, and at night, the pieces project multi-colored LED lights onto the cobblestone plaza.
READ MORE
Items at this pop-up grocery store in Times Square are made entirely of single-use plastic

Photograph by Maria Baranova-Suzuki courtesy of Times Square Arts.

February 20, 2020

Items at this pop-up grocery store in Times Square are made entirely of single-use plastic

By
With the new ban on single-use plastic bags hitting New York on March 1, a conversation has been started–and in some cases, continued–about the effects of our consumption on future generations. As important and complex as the topic may be, award-winning Brooklyn-based artist, puppet designer, and director Robin Frohardt has found a way to shine a creative light on consumption, conveniences, and the impact of single-use plastics. Located in Times Square, "The Plastic Bag Store" is an immersive, site-specific public art installation and three-act puppet show, on view from March 18 to April 12 at 20 Times Square.
Find out more
K-pop boy band BTS brings Antony Gormley’s ‘New York Clearing’ to Brooklyn Bridge Park

Antony Gormley, “NEW YORK CLEARING,” 2020; Approximately 18km (11mi) of 25.4mm (1in) square section aluminum and steel spigots. Installation view, Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pier 3, New York City, 2020. Photograph by Christopher Burke. © the artist

February 5, 2020

K-pop boy band BTS brings Antony Gormley’s ‘New York Clearing’ to Brooklyn Bridge Park

By
Top British sculptor Antony Gormley's "giant drawing in space" opened Wednesday at Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 3 as part of an international public art project, Connect, BTS. The project is a collaboration between popular South Korean boy band BTS, who introduced the project's New York City installation, and a select group of artists in cities around the globe. The installation, "New York Clearing" (2020), will be open to the public from February 5 to March 27, 2020.
Find out more
The Hudson Valley’s Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge is getting an artsy makeover

Fitzhugh Karol’s “Approach” sculpture, installed at the beginning of the bridge path in Rockland County; rendering courtesy of The New York State Thruway Authority

February 3, 2020

The Hudson Valley’s Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge is getting an artsy makeover

By
Eight local artists have been selected to install artworks along the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge’s 3.6-mile bicycle/pedestrian path. The New York State Thruway Authority partnered with ArtsWestchester and the Arts Council of Rockland to commission the works, which include five sculptures, four bicycle racks, and one mural. They’ll be placed at both ends of the bridge, at the Rockland and Westchester Landings, and along the side path in South Nyack. All of the commissions are currently underway and will be installed in the Spring.
More details
Times Square Arts’ 2020 Valentine’s Day heart comes with a hidden surprise

Photos by Ian Douglas

January 31, 2020

Times Square Arts’ 2020 Valentine’s Day heart comes with a hidden surprise

By
Times Square Arts debuted the 2020 Times Square Valentine Heart yesterday, a tradition that started in 2009. This year's installation, Heart Squared, was selected by the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum and designed by MODU and Eric Forman Studio. The sculpture is composed of a 10-foot-tall cubic steel lattice structure that approximates the form of an anatomical heart and 125 mirrors that are suspended within and tilted at various angles to create a kaleidoscopic collage of the urban environment. The arrangement of the mirrors might seem random at first but they're precisely calibrated to form an anamorphic projection—meaning that the mirror array creates a surprise image when viewed from a specific vantage point, which is marked on the ground with white paint.
READ MORE
Finalists announced for this year’s City of Dreams pavilion on Roosevelt Island

Rendering courtesy of Murr Architekten

January 22, 2020

Finalists announced for this year’s City of Dreams pavilion on Roosevelt Island

By
Arts organization FIGMENT, the Emerging New York Architects Committee (ENYA) of the American Institute of Architects New York Chapter (AIANY), and the Structural Engineers Association of New York (SEAoNY) have just announced the finalists in the 2020 City of Dreams Pavilion Design Competition. The competition is an annual program that invites designers to create a temporary architectural pavilion that is efficient and sustainable while considering the life cycle of the building materials used. This year's pavilion will be in Lighthouse Park on Roosevelt Island.
See more of the winning entries
Head to Pier 17 to ride a sonic wave of illuminated seesaws in a new public art installation

All photos courtesy of Wagstaff New York/The Howard Hughes Corportation

January 15, 2020

Head to Pier 17 to ride a sonic wave of illuminated seesaws in a new public art installation

By
All photos courtesy of Wagstaff New York/The Howard Hughes Corportation As 6sqft shared last week, The Garment District Alliance unveiled its latest public art installation, a collection of 12 oversized, illuminated seesaws titled “Impulse,” that emit various sounds as New Yorkers play on them. If you're looking for even more giant interactive seesaws, you're in luck: Wave-Field is now lighting up the lower Manhattan night. Now through the end of March, you'll find the installation of illuminated musical seesaws at Seaport Square next to Pier 17.
Find out more
Anish Kapoor’s bean sculpture at 56 Leonard Street will finally get installed

Rendering of Anish Kapoor sculpture at 56 Leonard St. © Anish Kapoor, 2017

October 31, 2019

Anish Kapoor’s bean sculpture at 56 Leonard Street will finally get installed

By
Tribeca's "Jenga Building," officially known as 56 Leonard Street, welcomed residents over two years ago, but one piece of the tower is still missing--the mirrored, bean-shaped sculpture by Anish Kapoor planned for the sidewalk outside its entrance. The sculptor is best known in the U.S. for his 2005 Cloud Gate installation in Chicago's Millenium Park, and his Tribeca piece, his first permanent work in New York City, will be a similar, smaller version of this. Back in March, we spotted a spray-painted installation guide for the sculpture outside 56 Leonard, but it's taken until now for the official word that the install will begin in November.
Find out more
NYC spring art guide 2019: Don’t-miss exhibits, events, and installations

Alicja Kwade, ParaPivot. Image credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Photograph by Hyla Skopitz.

April 26, 2019

NYC spring art guide 2019: Don’t-miss exhibits, events, and installations

By
New York City's art scene blossoms anew in springtime, with fresh ways to look at classic museum collections, international art fairs, cutting-edge installations and everything in between. And new public works pop up in the city's parks and gardens, making it possible to enjoy both the outdoors and the art. We've rounded up a list of must-see exhibits, fairs, and installations to get you started.
Check out our top spring picks
56 Leonard sidewalk gets outlined in anticipation of Anish Kapoor’s bean sculpture

Rendering by Anish Kapoor.

March 6, 2019

56 Leonard sidewalk gets outlined in anticipation of Anish Kapoor’s bean sculpture

By
Herzog & de Meuron's striking "Jenga" condo tower at 56 Leonard Street in Tribeca is a conversation piece on its own, with its cantilevered rectangles of glass rising into the sky. The long-anticipated flourish that will anchor the skyscraper–artist Anish Kapoor's reflective bean-shaped sculpture–is finally on the way, as evidenced by an intricate set of circles and arrows that just arrived on the building's sidewalk. The spray-painted outline will inform installation of the sculpture, which resembles a similar public art icon in Chicago, where Kapoor's "Cloud Gate" sculpture apparently attracts millions of tourists every year and has become an Instagram staple.
What's taking so long, the anticipation is killing us
Siah Armajani’s ‘Bridge Over Tree’ now open in Brooklyn Bridge Park

Siah Armajani: “Bridge Over Tree” 1970/2019; wood, steel and evergreen tree. Photo: Timothy Schenck.

February 21, 2019

Siah Armajani’s ‘Bridge Over Tree’ now open in Brooklyn Bridge Park

By
Iranian-born, Minneapolis-based artist Siah Armajani’s installation "Bridge Over Tree" (1970) was unveiled Wednesday at Brooklyn Bridge Park on the Empire Fulton Ferry Lawn between the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges. The seminal work, which was first shown as a temporary sculpture at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis in 1970, is comprised of a 91-foot-long walkway with open, trussed sides and a shingled roof. A set of stairs at the sculpture's midpoint climb up and down over a small evergreen tree. This is the first re-staging of the installation in almost 50 years
Find out more
Design studio Snarkitecture brings Snark Park to Hudson Yards with treats and ‘childlike wonder’
November 29, 2018

Design studio Snarkitecture brings Snark Park to Hudson Yards with treats and ‘childlike wonder’

By
If hanging out at 900 feet in the air isn't your thing, NYC's newest neighborhood, Hudson Yards, promises plenty of fun things to do with your feet on the ground.  As the first phase of the megaproject prepares to open this spring, New York-based design studio Snarkitecture will be introducing Snark Park, its first permanent exhibition space in Hudson Yards. Known for their clever reinterpretations of the familiar, Snarkitecture’s Snark Park will be a site for immersive installations housing design environments for all ages to explore, discover and enjoy.
Find out more
City calls on artists to add flair to drab construction fences in two-year pilot program

“Breathing Wall” by Monika Bravo. Photograph courtesy of the artist via NYC Department of Cultural Affairs

September 19, 2018

City calls on artists to add flair to drab construction fences in two-year pilot program

By
On September 12, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs announced a search for applicants for a new pilot program called City Canvas, Archpaper reports. The program was designed to beautify New York City’s visual landscape by installing large-scale–and temporary–artwork on its endless construction fences and 270 miles of sidewalk sheds. The protective construction structures are an everyday eyesore for New Yorkers, but current building codes prohibit altering them. The City Canvas program circumvents that ban by allowing select artists and cultural institutions to add visual art to the visual affronts.
Find out more
Artist proposes installing a Hollywood-style ‘Brooklyn!’ sign to attract visitors

A rendering of the proposed Brooklyn sign in place of the “Watchtower” sign. Image courtesy of Susanna Briselli.

July 25, 2017

Artist proposes installing a Hollywood-style ‘Brooklyn!’ sign to attract visitors

By
"Brooklyn is a potent idea as well as a place,” according to Susanna Briselli, who explains in the Brooklyn Eagle that the borough's name "summons vivid images and associations.” Briselli, who is an artist and photographer, suggests this potent chemistry is a compelling enough reason to create an enormous free-standing illuminated sign that reads “Brooklyn!” The massive work would be used to draw in more visitors and increase value, placed where the soon-to-be removed "Watchtower" sign in Brooklyn Heights now stands, or at another highly visible site such as Pier 7.
A sign of the times
Cuomo unveils winning design for NYC’s first public monument to LGBT people
June 26, 2017

Cuomo unveils winning design for NYC’s first public monument to LGBT people

By
To coincide with pride weekend, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that artist Anthony Goicolea had been chosen to design the first official monument to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people to be commissioned by the State of New York. According to the New York Times, the statue will be built near the waterfront piers in Hudson River Park. The monument's design features nine boulders bisected in places with glass, which can act as a prism, emitting a rainbow pattern. Governor Cuomo formed the LGBT Memorial Commission after the deadly attack at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla. in 2016; A request for designs for a new memorial went out in October of this year. Hudson River Park's waterfront piers have figured prominently in the history of the city's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
Find out more
Pitch a story icon

Pitch a Story

We love to hear from you!

"*" indicates required fields

Interested in seeing the property in person?

It’s free, with no obligation.

CityRealty Logo

"*" indicates required fields

or Call (212) 755-5544

Interested in seeing the property in person?

It’s free, with no obligation.

CityRealty Logo

Distinctive Post Form

"*" indicates required fields

or Call (212) 755-5544
Contact us image

Get in Touch

We love to hear from you!

"*" indicates required fields

Send us a tip image
Delivering New York stories focused on design, lifestyle & real estate.

Send us a Tip

We love to hear from you!

"*" indicates required fields

Interesting in learning more about purchasing a new home?

Let us know what you are looking for and we’ll help you find the home of your dreams. It’s free, with no obligation.

CityRealty Logo

Buy a Home (Footer)

"*" indicates required fields

or Call (212) 755-5544

Thinking about selling your home?

We’ll provide current market comps and connect you with a trusted expert.

CityRealty Logo

Sell a Home (Footer)

"*" indicates required fields

or Call (212) 755-5544